Barack Obama’s momentous step into the White House on Tuesday reverberated at workplaces across the Denver metro area, as employees set aside their daily chores, if only for a few moments, to witness history.

Happiness and excitement swept through Martin Wingo, who gathered with about 150 co-workers in the cafeteria at Level 3 Communications’ Broomfield headquarters to watch the nation’s first African-American president take the oath of office.

“It means a lot to me,” said Wingo, a support technician. “I’m 40 years old, and I never thought it would happen.”

Level 3, a key financial supporter of last year’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, broadcast inauguration festivities on a giant projection screen in the lunchroom. Some employees stood through the duration of Obama’s 18-minute inaugural address, one wore an “Obama Surfs” T-shirt, and most joined in three rounds of applause in a span of a half-hour.

“It was a historic moment that I did not want to miss seeing it live,” said Jennifer Cmil, a Level 3 human-resources vice president. “It was definitely emotional for me.”

Level 3 workers highlighted improving the economy and ending the war in Iraq as the top issues they hope Obama will address early.

Across town, even though it’s a busy time of year for accountants, the seven employees of Greenwood Village-based Schmidt & Associates crowded around their 14-inch TV to watch Obama’s swearing-in.

“We have a little TV in our office to watch the NCAA basketball tournament every March,” said accountant Dan Rice.

It came in handy Tuesday.

“We watched Obama and ate pretzel sticks,” Rice said.

Western Union and TIAA-CREF provided television coverage in conference and break rooms for their employees in Denver. In Westminster, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s workers watched the event in a conference room.

“Just as we do for major sporting events, we typically make a conference room available to Tri-State employees to view these once-in-a-lifetime happenings,” said Tri-State spokeswoman Karli Nelson.

Workers in high-rise offices in downtown Denver swarmed the main floors to watch TVs in the lobby. Some of those who didn’t leave their desks watched on their computers.

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